State agency orders release of charter school company salaries

Published: Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at 4:41 p.m.

Last Modified: Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at 4:41 p.m.

The state Office of Charter Schools is asking The Roger Bacon Academy to release employee salaries by June 27 in response to a complaint filed with the office earlier this month.

The request comes a week after the education management company, which has three charter schools in Southeastern North Carolina, released some employee counts and salary costs, but not individual breakdowns.

The information appears to omit salary information for administrators at the company's Roger Bacon headquarters and its schools: Charter Day School in Leland; Columbus Charter School in Whiteville and Douglass Academy in Wilmington. Roger Bacon chief financial officer Mark Dudeck and public information officer Sawyer Batten have not responded to repeated requests for the more detailed information.

The StarNews has been requesting the information since early May.

"State education officials have publicly stated multiple times that charter schools must release the documents," said Pam Sander, StarNews executive editor. "Roger Bacon is not listening."

In a memo to all state charter schools in April, State Charter Schools Director Joel Medley reminded schools that they must comply with the public records law, G.S. 132, or risk revocation of their charters.

In a letter specific to Roger Bacon Board Chairman John Ferrante on June 6, Medley gave Roger Bacon 15 business days to explain where the schools are in responding to public records requests.

In a letter released to local media on June 9, Dudeck wrote that the more general numbers were all the law required. "This is more than adequate to serve both the public interest and your purposes," he wrote.

On Monday, attorney Amanda Martin of the Raleigh law firm Stevens Martin Vaughn and Tadych filed a public records request on behalf of the StarNews.

"The statute is clear that the employees of the school are public school teachers," Martin said. "The law says you have a right to get public records information about public employees. The public is entitled to know how its money is being spent, whether it's being effective, things like that."

In addition to salary information, the StarNews has requested bonuses and other incentives for all employees from 2012-2014; board of trustees' expense reports and any other records of payments to board members; budgets for 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years; and all contracts or other agreements between the schools and Roger Bacon president Baker Mitchell or any company owned by or affiliated with Mitchell.

For the 2012-2013 school year, Roger Bacon's two schools open at the time received $11.46 million in public funding, according to reports the schools filed with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction.

Dudeck didn't respond to a call Tuesday about whether they intend to comply with the state request and release full salary details to local news outlets.

WECT filed a complaint with the state charter schools office on June 4.

Three other charter schools in the area – Wilmington Preparatory Academy, Island Montessori Charter School and Cape Fear Center for Inquiry – have released individual salaries to the StarNews, as have all public schools in Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties.

<p>The state Office of Charter Schools is asking The Roger Bacon Academy to release employee salaries by June 27 in response to a complaint filed with the office earlier this month.</p><p>The request comes a week after the education management company, which has three charter schools in Southeastern North Carolina, released some employee counts and salary costs, but not individual breakdowns.</p><p>The information appears to omit salary information for administrators at the company's Roger Bacon headquarters and its schools: Charter Day School in <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/topic9971"><b>Leland</b></a>; Columbus Charter School in Whiteville and Douglass Academy in Wilmington. Roger Bacon chief financial officer Mark Dudeck and public information officer Sawyer Batten have not responded to repeated requests for the more detailed information.</p><p>The StarNews has been requesting the information since early May.</p><p>"State education officials have publicly stated multiple times that charter schools must release the documents," said Pam Sander, StarNews executive editor. "Roger Bacon is not listening."</p><p>In a memo to all state charter schools in April, State Charter Schools Director Joel Medley reminded schools that they must comply with the public records law, G.S. 132, or risk revocation of their charters. </p><p>In a letter specific to Roger Bacon Board Chairman John Ferrante on June 6, Medley gave Roger Bacon 15 business days to explain where the schools are in responding to public records requests. </p><p>In a letter released to local media on June 9, Dudeck wrote that the more general numbers were all the law required. "This is more than adequate to serve both the public interest and your purposes," he wrote.</p><p>On Monday, attorney Amanda Martin of the Raleigh law firm Stevens Martin Vaughn and Tadych filed a public records request on behalf of the StarNews.</p><p>"The statute is clear that the employees of the school are public school teachers," Martin said. "The law says you have a right to get public records information about public employees. The public is entitled to know how its money is being spent, whether it's being effective, things like that."</p><p>In addition to salary information, the StarNews has requested bonuses and other incentives for all employees from 2012-2014; board of trustees' expense reports and any other records of payments to board members; budgets for 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 school years; and all contracts or other agreements between the schools and Roger Bacon president Baker Mitchell or any company owned by or affiliated with Mitchell.</p><p>For the 2012-2013 school year, Roger Bacon's two schools open at the time received $11.46 million in public funding, according to reports the schools filed with the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. </p><p>Dudeck didn't respond to a call Tuesday about whether they intend to comply with the state request and release full salary details to local news outlets. </p><p>WECT filed a complaint with the state charter schools office on June 4.</p><p>Three other charter schools in the area – Wilmington Preparatory Academy, Island Montessori Charter School and Cape Fear Center for Inquiry – have released individual salaries to the StarNews, as have all public schools in Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties. </p><p><i></p><p>Pressley Baird: 343-2328</p><p>On <a href="http://www.starnewsonline.com/section/news41"><b>Twitter</b></a>: @PressleyBaird</i></p>